The Dark Side of Prozac

A detailed Summary of The Dark Side of Prozac

Cutting, purging, starving, and drug abuse are all self-destructive behaviors faced by Americans today. Americans like to think that the ingestion of a simple pill will help dissolve their problems. Society tends to ignore the adverse effects of anti-depressants because of the "wonders" that they work. With the mass quantity of anti-depressants on the market, Prozac is found to be one of the more popular drugs. As great as Prozac may seem to be, the content of this paper will conclude that Prozac has a negative effect on self-destructive behaviors.

Prozac is used to treat depression, bulimia, and alcohol dependency, just to name a few uses. Prozac is part of a group of drugs called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), which help replenish normal levels of serotonin to the brain (Ruh 949). "Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which helps us decide whether a glass is half full or half empty." ( Lemonick 150) Scientists are just beginning to understand a chemical's role in the function of the human body (Lemonick). This is a very interesting discovery; if this understanding is recent, how is it possible that over 20 years ago, Prozac started to be marketed? Prozac is a chemical, and it

attributed to Prozac, there is at least one harmful effect that it causes. Americans should not allow for the negative effect that Prozac has on self-destructive behaviors.

There is another possibility that Prozac and other antidepressants will only work for the patients that believe that the drugs will work for them. This conclusion is based on the research done with placebos. Placebos are inert, inactive pills used in studies to measure the efficacy of antidepressants. "One review of antidepressant literature indicates overall that one-third of patients do not improve with antidepressant treatment, one-third improve with placebos, and an additional thrid show a response to medication they would not have attained with placebos. Administering a therapeutic drug is not simply a medical, biological act. It is also a complex social act, its effectiveness mediated by the patient's expectations" (Antidepressants for Happiness).

Commonly observed side effects of Prozac are headache, insomnia, drowsiness, nervousness, anorexia nervosa, and anxiety (Long). It is common knowledge that anorexia is the

In 1987, the German BGA, a group equivalent to the United States' FDA, refused to approve Prozac based upon studies conducted by Eli Lilly, the makers of Prozac, which stated that Prozac given to non-suicidal patients had a higher rate of suicide attempts and death by

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Approximate Word count = 934
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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